Archive for July, 2009
Is There Anything You Are Holding On To? July 31, 2009
I used to be fat…REALLY fat…I weighed over 300 pounds and wore a size 50 in the waist.
THAT IS HUGE…
I hated being that way…but…I refused to give up sweets, soft drinks and the four to five extra snacks I enjoyed each day (in addition to my three HUGE meals!)
I lacked self control (and the willingness to exercise!)
I tried to blame my condition on others…on stress…on Congress…on whoever…but at the end of the day the problem was me…I was in the middle of a problem that I had created…and the only way to get past it was to let go of some things I really loved.
I thought about this the other day as I read the story found in Luke 18:18-30…the one about the Rich Young Ruler (which is found in three out of four Gospels…must be pretty important!)
The most hard hitting/convicting section of this passage is what Jesus said to the guy after he had claimed he was doing some good things and really trying to live in the right way…
“You still lack one thing…” Luke 18:22 THEN Jesus went on to point out the ONE thing the guy lacked….and followed it up with a RADICAL challenge to make an extreme committment and sacrifice. (Jesus doesn’t play games…He always comes after the heart!)
What was the dudes response? (Luke 18:23) He walked away…the price was literally too high. He was doing some good things and even had the guts to approach Jesus. He KNEW there was something wrong with his life…but when Jesus pressed down on him he chose his love for stuff over becoming radcially devoted to Jesus.
He KNEW what He needed to do…but refused to walk away.
SO…how about you? What is it that the Lord continues to press into…and you refuse to obey?
Maybe you are dating someone that you know isn’t the Lord’s best for you…you know you should break up…but the thought of being single haunts you! Don’t let a date hold you back from God unleashing Ephesians 3:20 in your life.
Maybe you are in a job that pays the bills…but you know the Lord is leading you in a different direction. You WANT to follow Him…but are scared because you are in love with the lifestyle that your paycheck supports. Don’t let stuff hold you back from God unleashing Ephesians 3:20 in your life.
Maybe you know you are called to plant a church…but you have no idea how and when and where. You want to do this…but fear and uncertainty haunt you every time you think you might actually attempt this. Hell is too hot for you to live in fear…if He called you to do it…do it…and don’t let fear hold you back from God unleashing Ephesians 3:20 in your life.
I could go on and on…but let me end with this…what did the rich young ruler walk away from? What COULD have happened in his life? What WOULD he have become had he completely sold out to Jesus? (I am sure he had the same thoughts many times after refusing to follow!)
Life is too short for us to blow through the next 10-20 years and then look back on “what might have been!”
AND…we will never accomplish great things for God without first making great sacrifices!
SO…what are you holding back? What are you NOT surrendering to Him…your fear, your money, your career…YOUR LIFE?
My prayer for all of us is that we will live in COMPLETE surrender…and in doing so see Ephesians 3:20 happen on a personal level AND a church level unlike anything we’ve ever seen!
God never asks us to give something up without blessing us with something even greater…
SO go for it!
Seven Random Thoughts July 30, 2009
So…today my mind is racing…AND my A-D-D is in full gear…so here is some randomness…
#1 – This morning I got mad…REALLY mad…at stupid people. A few things hit me the wrong way and I just flat out asked God, “why don’t you just kill the stupid people?” (COME ON…you’ve probably asked Him to do the same thing…don’t lie!!!) That seemed like a good idea to me…until He reminded me that if He were killing people for stupidity that I would be the first one on the list! The ONLY reason I am in ministry is because of HIS grace (II Corinthians 4:1) and the ONLY way I can make a good decision is BEG for HIS wisdom (James 1:5) and follow HIS leadership. I’m SO stupid without Him!
It’s funny how at times we can get so angry at others…not realizing that our anger COULD be the result of our own sin and not theirs!
AND…God reminded me (AGAIN) that when I read His Word I should not do so primarily to see what it says to others…but to see what it says to me. To not run off at the mouth so quickly…but to listen quickly and speak slowly. (James 1:19-20.)
#2 – Seth Godin’s post today is a MUST READ…seriously…ESPECIALLY if you are on a church staff! WOW!!!
#3 – It’s true that Christians have a hard time forgetting the sins of others…but through humility and repentance a person can slowly but surely take the bullets out of hands of those who shoot them. However, when a person is unwilling to repent of sin and mocks God by their actions and attitude…a part of God’s judgment on them is people who love Jesus having nothing to do with them. (See I Corinthians 5 and Matthew 18:15-17 and James 1:21)
#4 – Ben had an AWESOME post for us to read here!!! (I love his website for STORY…seriously, one of the best websites I’ve ever seen! Check it out here!)
#5 – II Corinthians 5:7 stretched me this morning…praying that we never do ministry here @ NewSpring Church “in the safe zone.” If our goal is to be “normal” and “average” then we dishonor the God who saved us and commanded us to attempt great things.
#6 – Tony’s Blackberry can beat up your iphone!
#7 – I am so excited about Sunday that I am literally about to bust! We’re seeing God do some amazing things right now…and I personally believe what we are witnessing is Him lighting the fuse…which will ignite a powder keg that the communities in which we have been planted cannot deny. Jesus will be exalted…and people will never be the same! Get here early…and don’t come alone…BRING SOMEBODY!
That’s it…told you it was random!
Forgetting Jesus July 30, 2009
One of the stories that has always both bothered and convicted me in the Scriptures is found in Luke 17:11-19…
It bothers me because TEN lepers cried out to Jesus…TEN lepers were so desperate that they were willing to be ridiculed…TEN lepers knew that Jesus could heal their disease…TEN lepers heard His voice…and TEN lepers were cleansed.
BUT…ONE leper came back…ONE leper praise Him in “a loud voice”…ONE leper fell at His feet…ONE leper was truly thankful…and ONE leper met and experienced Jesus on a level that the TEN should have.
It is so easy to get angry at the other nine guys…unless…we realize that we actually have more in common with them than we do the one who came back to give thanks.
Seriously…when was the last time you stopped and thanked Jesus for all He has done for you? (Confession…I don’t do it enough!!!)
Most of us are desperate people when circumstances call for it…but…what if we were as desperate for His presence and power when things are going well?
The Bible tells us in I Thessalonians 5:16-18 that we should give thanks in all circumstances…
I believe we would walk in greater joy if we spent more time THANKING Him for all He has done rather than COMPLAINING to Him about all that we think He needs to do!
Anything you need to thank Him for?
- Your spouse…
- Your job…
- Your kids…
- Your money…
- Your health…
- Your friends….
- Your church….
- Your house…
The list could go on and on…and the WORSE mistake we could make is to ask Him for something, He radically blessed us…and then we act as if we deserved His kindness.
This is hitting me hard right now…I need to spend WAY more time giving Him thanks!
Three Dangerous Prayers… July 29, 2009
#1 – “Lord, Use Me!”
Warning…He doesn’t take this one lightly…and…this prayer usually doesn’t come about through casual church attendance but rather an intense understanding of who Jesus is, what He has done and allowing Him to break our hearts.
Many people do not have a problem praying, “Lord, use others,” or even, “Lord use me on MY terms.”
But He doesn’t want anything less from us than complete surrender.
What are you willing to do for God? How far is too far? Are there any limitations that you would place on your life?
Romans 12:1 is what we are called to be…a living sacrifice…the problem with a “living sacrifice” is that it has the tendency to crawl off of the alter…that is why DAILY surrender is essential for us to truly follow Christ.
#2 – “Lord, Disturb Me!”
Like I said on Sunday…one of our prayers needs to be for Jesus to allow us to see things the way He sees them…because when that begins to take place we will NOT be able to be concent to just accept things the way that they are.
I believe the problem with a lot of churches is that they are not disturbed…they are comfortable…and they do not wish to be disturbed. We want to ignore that there are REALLY people who will REALLY go to hell if we don’t do something. We want to ignore that there are problems in the world that CAN be solved if we would only be willing to part with some time and money!
Asking God to give you HIS heart is never a bad thing…
BUT…when we pray for God to do this then we are automatically taken out of our comfort zones…which is where the best/most impactful minisry takes place!
#3 – “Lord, Break Me!”
Question…is there anything in your life right now that God wants out of your life?
Another question…is there anything NOT in your life right now than God is trying to put there?
When we begin to ask God to break us He will begin to reveal things to us that we perhaps thought wasn’t a bg deal in the past…OR…He will call us to greater things and, in doing so, cause us to have to make hard decisions to leave things behind.
God used broken things! (See I Corinthians 1:26-31 and I Corinthians 6:9-11) He used unschooled, ordinary men to turn the world upside down (Acts 4:13!) He’s not looking for people who have a pedigree…but rather a passion to allow Him to work IN them so that He can then work THROUGH them!
Preparation H and Confession July 28, 2009
OK…so from time to time I am accused of being a little too transparent when I communicate…the following post will give evidence of that…and many of you may scream “TMI,” nonetheless…here we go…
Buying Preparation H is embarassing.
How do I know? I did it the other day…and not because I wanted to play a joke on someone…but because I needed it!
I was intimated walking into the drug store…and didn’t know where to look for it. BUT…(ha ha…”but”) I wasn’t about to ask where the hemorrhoid medicine was located…I guess I could find it myself.
After I located it I had to walk it up front and pay for it. For a brief second I thought about shoplifting…seriously…because I knew that the person who was going to ring me up was going to know what I was dealing with!
BUT…I decided to go ahead and get it over with. SO…I walked up to the cash register and a lady was standing there (GREAT…if it would have been a dude I could have at least cracked off a joke or something!) I handed her the box of Preparation H and she looked at it, sort of smiled and then rang it up.
I wanted to tell her it wasn’t for me…that is was for a friend…that I was getting a gag gift for someone. BUT…reality is this–I was in pain and wanted relief…and thus had to face a pretty embarassing situation in order to get my problem solved. (Yes, things are MUCH better–thanks for asking!)
I just KNOW that after I left the store that people probably referred to me as “butt boy” or “pastor preparation h!” BUT (ha-ha)…pain and discomfort will either produce desperation or denial…and I simply could not accept things the way they were.
WHICH brings me to how we do life (yes…this does have a point!)
I know a lot of people who are miserable right now…not sad, not disheartened…but MISERABLE. The reason = there is something going on inside of them that is painful…their marriage is struggling, they can’t stop looking at porn, they are WAY overextended financially or maybe they are involved in an affair.
AND…they are being tormented on the inside…seriously, the level of discomfort that they are going through is, at times, overwhelming…and they want relief…however,
What they must go through to get relief is not worth the price of relief in their minds (confession and repentance)…and so they just keep pretending that things are fine…not realizing that to deny the voice of God is to venture down a path of destruction.
The Bible says in James 5:16 that we should confess our sins to one another and pray for one another…in other words…we NEED one another.
It is embarassing to confess sin? YES! It it tough to admit that sin is dominating your life? YES! Will people talk about you and quite possibly make fun or you? YES!!! It’s NOT EASY…but…
To remain in a situation that Jesus is calling you out of will lead to more embarrassment than we could even imagine. I once heard someone say, “The consequences of concealment are far more damaging than the consequences of confession!”
So…do you have people in your life to whom you can talk with…REALLY talk with…about what is going on in your life?
Is there anything about you that, if it became known, would destroy your marriage? You reputation? Your relationship with your children?
You CAN’T live in that discomfort…b/c like I said earlier…to remain in discomfort will lead to destruction.
The conviction of the Holy Spirit is NOT God judging you…but rather Him being merciful!!! Why would we resist God trying to refine us? Answer–it MAY be embarassing…
When in actuality to remain where some of us are will be FAR more embarassing…
SO…anything you need to say or do?
Increase My Faith! July 27, 2009
Last week I was walking through the book of Luke and Luke 17:5 hit me like a TON of bricks!!!
“The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’”
Confession…I need to pray this more!
If we truly have a vision from God then we will be driven to desperation…and if we’re not then we do not have a vision but merely a daydream!
AND…if God truly lays HUGE vision on your heart it will completely overwhelm your faith…which is why we must CONSTANTLY run to Jesus and beg Him to increase our faith!
As I look at where I believe God wants to take NewSpring Church it completely overwhelms me…there is NO WAY I can do this by myself…and I am FORCED to pray, “Lord, increase my faith.”
The church needs to quit running towards what we know we can do and embrace the risks associated with the unknown! We need for men and women who are NOT passionately obsessed with the way things are…but rather intensly focused on the way things should be!
We’ve GOT to quit doing ministry minus faith…because…even though it is “safe”…it never fulfills what Jesus has called us to do–ADVANCE His Kingdom!
Those who are not willing to attempt the impossible with never experience the unexplainable!
Lord…increase my faith!!! (Hebrews 11:1 & Hebrews 11:6)
Sunday Night Reflections… July 26, 2009
Going to try not to ramble here…but am pumped beyond words…so here goes…
- Today’s service was, in my opinion, one of the top five services we’ve ever had at NewSpring Church!
- We had more people at our 6:00 Sunday night service than we have had at any Sunday night service all year long…excluding Easter!
- Seeing hundreds of teenagers LEAD our church in worship was UNBELIEVABLE…I’ve challenged them to do it EVERY WEEK…and I think they are crazy enough to do it!!!
- The Gauntlet FIRED them up…and today we saw the fire begin to spread!!!
- SCOREBOARD! (You’ll need to watch the service online or listen to the podcast to get it…something I covered @ the beginning of the 6:00 service!)
- We’re NOT called to be consumers…but contributors! The challenge today was to move people from spectator to participator…and to say it was slightly tense in our services would be an understatement.
- One of the problems in the church today is that pastors are afraid to call people to make an all out commitment…Scripture is clear that we are CALLED to be a part of a local body of believers and support it with our time, our money and our prayers.
- Our church is reaching people and seeing changed lives NOT because of “me,” but because of “WE!” (And HE!!! In fact, it is HE through WE and not me that makes the difference!)
- YOU are WAY TOO VALUABLE to sit on the sideline and do nothing…God has designed you ON purpose, for a purpose…and “jumping” in and following Him will unleash potential inside of you that you never imagined that you had!
- I PRAY that YOU will get FULLY INVOLVED somewhere and allow Jesus to bring OUT OF YOU what HE has PLACED INSIDE OF YOU!!! When you get involved…everyone wins…the body of Christ, others and you!!!
- SOME of you are called into full time vocational ministry…and the key to unlocking that calling is to “jump in” somewhere!!!
- BTW…for those who think they are “over qualified” to serve in a local church…Jesus was pretty much over qualified to come to earth and wash the dung off the of the disciples feet…yet He “jumped!”
- Matthew 20:28…enough said…if we are going to follow Jesus…we’ve GOT to have this attitude!
- Someone asked today if I was angry…HECK YES…it makes me mad when people attempt to rape the Bride of Christ and use her to fulfill their selfish, self centered desires!!! We are called to reach the world through serving it…not screaming at it (OR ignoring it!)
- Yes, I know that people were offended today…that was actually the point of the message…for people to either get so offended at me that they left or so offended at themselves that they were willing to “jump” and do something!
- If you haven’t seen the baptism video on Brad’s blog...you need to check it out here…like I said Friday–THIS is why we do what we do!
- Incredibly excited about the direction of our student ministry!!!
- A HUGE of growth is coming our way at NewSpring…and today’s message was intended to either make room for them…or to get people ready to serve them!
- Florence campus will move in two weeks…and the plan is to begin going live instead of week delay!
- It looks like we will sign a deal on the lease of a building in Columbia THIS WEEK…more details coming soon!
- The more I think about the move God has orchestrated in Greenville and the facility we are in…the more it pumps me up!
- We have 1,000 extra seats on the Anderson campus per service (the student facility) that we plan on using this fall!
- I am excited about all of this because…IT MEANS MORE PEOPLE HEAR THE GOSPEL AND MEET JESUS!!! THAT is NEVER a bad thing!
- I told Charisse I showed pictures of her jumping off of the cliff today in church…and she smiled!
- A really great friend brought me some “banana puddin’” minus the banana today…planning on devouring it soon!
NewSpring Church…I am SO THANKFUL for those of you who have “jumped in” and gotten involved. God is using US…and the best is yet to come. We have a calling on US as a church to do all that we can and then beg God to make up the difference…and then stand in AWE of all that He does. I love you guys!!!